If It Weren't For The Rain

If It Weren't For The Rain, I Wouldn't Have Ever Been Able To Appreciate The Sunshine

Sitting back thinking of everything I've been through. It's easy to have a pity party or be angry about it all. I could continue to beat myself up about what could have or should have happened in my life. I know that as long as I have breathe in my body that I will have struggles. Everyday won't be filled with roses and rainbows.

Too often we allow situations or experiences to dictate how we conduct ourselves. We allow things to make us bitter and keep us bitter. We allow broken hearts to cause us to miss out on true love. We allow friends who turned their backs on us to cause us to miss out on connecting with amazing people. We even allow these things to cause us to judge people before we even get a chance to really know them.

You know what people forget about in times of trouble? Their power! Their power to make a choice. It's not what you go through, but how you choose to weather the storm. What if I quit on myself when others quit on me? What if I walked away from every good person in my life just because I was abandoned? How many dreams would I have walked away from? How many great relationships would I have forfeited?

At the end of the day we can't change the things that have already happened to us. I'm speaking to every young lady who wasn't ready for what being a woman really meant. I'm talking to every young man who didn't realize how the pressure of being a man would be so heavy. For every woman who had her heart broken. For every man who did the best to take care of his family and still lost it all. For each and every person who felt like they were drowning in the storm. Every tear you've cried, every night of sleep you lost, every heartbreak you got over, and every trial that you are now facing... it happened, it is happening, and some of it may continue to happen. Don't let it break you! Allow it to propel you into greatness. Learn from it. Sit back and really think how you can grow from whatever your storm may be. I know that it doesn't feel great. At times you just wanna know WHY??? It gets better.

Someone said something to me that was very simple yet powerful. They said, "If it weren't for the rain, I wouldn't be able to appreciate the sunshine." Something immediately sparked in me! Without storms, issues, failures, hurt, pain, we wouldn't know the difference between bad times and good times. We wouldn't really know how to appreciate the good days and all of the amazing things that come along. After it rains, the most beautiful rainbow usually appears. Even though we may go through our own individual trials in life, there is beauty after the storm. It up to us whether or not we stop to appreciate the beauty of what's right in front of us. We can either choose to dwell on the negatives or the positives.

I don't know what's in store for me, but I know that whatever is to come whether good or bad, I will overcome. I know that I will continue to look at the positives and not allow the negatives to overtake my thoughts. I will exercise my power to choose and choose happiness. I will choose joy and peace. I will remind myself daily that there is beauty after the storm.